Game Day Preview: Americans @ Cougars
Friday December 6, 2013
Tri-City Americans (16-12-1-2, 35 pts.) At Prince George Cougars (11-16-1-3, 26 pts.)
CN Centre, Prince George, WA; 7:00 p.m.
Listen: NewsTalk 870; 6:45 p.m.
Watch: WHL Live
Previous Game
Prince George: 11/30/13 vs. Vancouver (3-5, Loss)
Tri-City: 12/03/13 vs. Saskatoon (3-1, Win)
2013/14 Point Leaders
Prince George: Chase Witala 18G-11A-29PT, Troy Bourke 12G-17A-29PT, Todd Fiddler 10G-17A-27PT
Tri-City: Brian Williams 20G-10A-30 PT, Connor Rankin 11G-18A-29PT, Phil Tot 8G-11A-19PT
Game Overview
The Tri-City Americans head north to open a double header weekend against the Prince George Cougars. Tonight will be the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, with Prince George defeating Tri-City 2-1 during the opening weekend of the WHL season in September. Historically the Americans are 96-48-4-2 all-time against the Cougars with a 44-31-1-0 record playing in Prince George.
The Americans will take part in its annual double header weekend in Prince George this weekend playing both road games of the season series in back-to-back days. Since the 2003-2004 season when the Americans season series against the Cougars was reduced from six to four games, Tri-City is 15-5-0-0 in Prince George, sweeping the two-game weekend in five of the 10 weekends and winning at least one of the games every season.
Players to Watch
Prince George:
Troy Bourke- When these teams met on September 22, Bourke scored both of the Cougars goals in a 2-1 victory over the Americans. The Cougars’ forward enters tonight’s matchup tied for first on the team with 29 points (12G-17A).
Marc McNulty- Another player who did damage against the Americans on September 22 was Mcnulty, assisting on both of the Cougars goals. The defenseman is tied for the team lead with a +2 rating this season and has registered 14 points (6G-8A), tops among Prince George point men.
Ty Edmonds- The Americans are hoping to have more success against Edmonds than it had in September when it managed just one goal on 22 shots. In his rookie year, the Cougars net minder has a 3.51 goals against with a 0.899 save percentage.
Tri-City:
Connor Rankin- Rankin is coming off another solid performance in the teams’ 3-1 victory against the Saskatoon Blades, where he registered a goal and an assist on his way to being named first star. The North Vancouver native has points in six of his last seven games and will be looking to exploit the Prince George defense.
Taylor Vickerman- Vickerman has played in three games since returning from an upper body injury that sidelined him for 25 games, and already he has been productive. The Kennewick native has registered points in two of his three games back including the teams first goal against Saskatoon this past Tuesday.
Beau McCue- After a seven-game pointless streak, McCue finally found the score sheet with the third goal against the Saskatoon Blades. The 18-year-old was the only player to beat Edmonds when these teams met in September, scoring a shorthanded goal to get the Americans back in the game.
Game Notes
Against the B.C. Division: Tonight will be the tenth game that the Americans have played against opponents out of the B.C. Division, compiling a record of 4-5-0-0 so far this season with a 1-2-0-0 record on the road. The Americans had won three out of four against the division, but late November losses against Kelowna and Victoria put Tri-City below the .500 mark.
On The Road Again: After playing seven of its last nine games at home, the Americans are back on the road this weekend. Tri-City comes into tonight’s game looking to snap its three-game road losing streak which dates back to November 8 against the Everett Silvertips. The Americans are 5-7-1-0 playing on the road but turned in a record of 3-2-1-1 away from the Toyota Center during the month of November.
Resurgent Power Play: While the Americans penalty killing has been strong all season, lately its power play has begun to heat up as well. Tri-City has scored at least one goal on the man advantage in each of its last five games, scoring on 35 percent of its opportunities during those contests. The team has vaulted up to 11th place in the WHL with a success rate of 22 percent on the man advantage this season. The Cougars come into Friday’s game with the league’s 17th ranked penalty killing unit, killing off just under 75 percent of its infractions.
Keeping the Puck Out: Allowing an average of 2.61 goals a night, the Americans have allowed the fifth fewest goals in the WHL this season. Tri-City has used a stifling defensive unit along with the strong net minding of Eric Comrie, who holds the league’s second best save percentage of 0.926 along with a goals against average of 2.41. The Cougars average 2.90 goals a game this season ranking seventh in the Western Conference.
Next Game
Tri-City: at Prince George 12/07/13
Prince George: vs. Tri-City 12/07/13
